Chair



H. A. ATWOOD.

CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, m9.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- UNITED STATES PATENT oqFFies.

HARRY A. ATWOOD OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO MILWAUKEE CHAIR COMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, VIISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented NOV. 16, 1920.

Application filed May.22, 1919. 4 Serial No.. 298,823.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY A. A'rwoon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention concerns improvements in chairs in general, but relates more particularly or especially to features of novelty and advantage in chairs with adjustable yielding backs such as are ordinarily used by stenographers when seated at the typewriter. One object of the invention is the production of a chair of this type in which the position of the back may be. readily adj usted or regulated withoutmodifyingthe spring tension imposed on the same, the adjustment being effected by an accessible regulating screw capable ,of .manipulat'ion by the occupant of the chair without changing her position. Another feature of-the invention is the adjustmentforj the spring cushion or tension by means of a handle or nut in such position that it can be operated by the person seated in the chair. A still further element of the invention is the improved means for' adjustably holding the back to the upright post or standard by a which it is supported. Besides the accomplishment of these purposes, other salient features of the invention are simplicity, in structure, economy in manufacture, accessibility of adjustable parts, and withal a construction of pleasing appearance.

To enable those skilled in thisart to have a full and complete understandingofthe invention andits various advantages, I have illustrated a preferred and desirable em-.

bodiment' of the same inthe accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and throughout the various views of which like reference characters, refer tothe same parts.

In these drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete chair; V

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section/through the back on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; i

Fig' 3 is a horizontal section on line 33 of Fig. 1, the parts being viewed inthe direction indicated by the arrows; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary central vertical section on line of Fig. 3. V v

to these drawings, it"will be perceived that the improved chair comprises a suitable base composed of a plurality of legs 10, 10, an adjustable, threaded, vertical post or shaft 11, the position of which may be regulated by an adjusting nut 12 of usual construction, and a seat-frame on the top of the post having two, diverging. forwardlyextended arms 13, 13, fastened to the bottom of the seat 14, and a pair of shorter, diverging, rearwardly-extended arms 15, 15,

likewise secured to theunder face of the seat. These seat-supporting spider arms are connected together beneath the middle of the chair by a web or hub portion 16 into an aperture of which the upper end of the threaded shaft or post 11 is fitted.

site sides of an upright staff 20, thelower end portion of which is securely, permanently, and rigidly fastened to the end of the arm or lever by a pair of screws 21, 21,

the threaded ends of which take into threaded holes in the enlarged end of the arm. As is clearly shown, the front bifurcated end portion of this hinged arm 17 has its two spaced parts cross-connected together by a bar portion QQintegral therewith and affording means for the attachment of the rear end of a coil-spring 23, the forward end of which engages theeye 2 1 of a threaded rod '25 which extends forwardly through a hole in. the upwardly-directed end of an arm '26 integral with and projecting forwardly from the web or hub portion 16 of the mainframe. In front of. such upturned arm end the threaded rod or shankis provided with a handle nut 27 bymeans of which the tension on the spring may be easily regulated by the occupant of the chair without shifting his or her position since such, nut is quite accessible by reason of its. location .di-

reetly beneath the front portion of the seat. Obviously, the .actionof this spring, is to .yieldingly rock or pull the staff forqvardly toward the seat, and, in order to limit such forward movementof the staff, I'

provide a thickened intermediate portion 28 of the horizontal arm or lever 17 w th a threaded aperture accommodating an al most vertical adjustable abutment or stop screw 30 equipped with a turning handle 31, the upper end of the screw bearing against a fiatweb 32 connecting together the end 5 portions of the two rearwardly-extended seat-supporting arms 15, 15. It wlll be readily understood that the adjustment of the screw 30 determines the forward lim1t ,of travel of the staff 20 because the. upper end of the screw performs the function of an adjustable abutment or stop, but the staff is free to swing rearwardly from such forward'position under the cushioning and yielding restraint, however, of the coilspring 23. Thus the degree of cushionmg spring action on the staff may be determined or controlled by the handle 27 and the limit of forward swing of the staff regulated by screw 30, these two functions being capable, by reason of this construction, of independent control or regulation.

'As is usual in chairs of this type or style, the back staff or standard 20 at its upper end carries an adjustable curved back piece 32, which has secured to its rear face, screws 33, 33, a supporting member 34 wit an intermediate or middle section 35 channel shaped in cross-section, the flanges of which, as is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, overlap latter having a hole 36 extended therethroiwh for the accommodation of a threaded bolt 3 projecting forwardly through a vertical slot 38 in the part 35, its square or angular head 39 beingseated in a vertical groove 40 cut in the rear face of the back 32. That portion of the bolt extended rearwardly of the staff is-supplied with a handlenut 41, which, under ordinary conditions, tightens the bolt-head against the member 34, holding the back in proper adjusted vertical position. When the nut is loosened, however, theadjustment or position of the back may be changed, tightening of the nut then holding the back securely in its new position. The groove inthe back 32 by cooperation with the angular head of the bolt prevents the latter fromturning, whereby the tightening and loosening of this bolt may be readily and easily accomplished by manipulation of the nut-handle.

In this structure there isno slotting of the wooden staff or standard 20 and hence the latter is not weakened by any such removal of a portion of its material. By countersinking the bolt head in the cavity 40 the twoparts 20 and 32 may be brought close tog ther with a minimum exposure of the supporting and adjusting device, thus preservinga neatand pleasing appearance of theparts.

If desired. in order to prevent garments from becoming caught between the back and seat, a strip of leather 42 may be fastened 65 to those two elements, thus bridging the gap tension ofthe cushioning dependently and conveniently regulated by adjustment.

the opposite sides of staff or support 20, the

orly engages the back of the occupant.

Then such occupant leans back to determine whether or not the adjustment of the spring 23 is proper. If not, it is modified by the manipulation of the nut-handle 27 without such occupant leaving the chair, the handle being readily accessible from the position assumed by the person seated in the chair.

Thus the position of the back staff and the spring may be inthe occupant while seated in the chair in normal or working position. The connection of spring 23 with arm 17 being near its fulcrum no substantial change in the tension of the spring is caused by adjustment of the screw 30 throughout its ordinary ranges of In any case, the adjustment of abutment screw 30 having been secured, the spring tension can be regulated to that desired without interfering with such previous. stop-screw adjustment, so that, both required conditions can be easily met.

It is not to be understood that this invention is limited and restricted to the precise and exact mechanical details described and lllustrated because these may be modified within comparatively wide limits without departure from the heart and substance of the invention as defined by the appended claims and without the sacrifice of any of its substantial benefits and advantages. In other words,the preferred embodiment herein presented is only by way of example and is not to be taken in a limiting or restricting sense.

I claim:

1. Achair having a base, a post mounted thereon, a seat-support carried by said post,

a seat on said support, a substantially-horizontal arm beneath said seat hinged to said support, a back-stall mounted on the rear end of said arm, a substantially-vertical extension on the front portion of said arm, a substantially-horizontal spring connected at its rear end to said extension and at its front end to said seat-support, and means to adjust the tension of said spring located beneath the front portion of said seat, substantially as describec. v

- 2. "A chair having a base, a post mounted. thereon, a seat-support carried by said post, a seat on'said support, a substantially-horizontal arm beneath said seat hinged to said seat-support, a back-staff mounted on the 10 as described.

3. In a chair of the character described,

the combination of a suitably-supported: chair-seat, a substantially-horizontal arm fulcrumed beneath said seat, a back-staff mounted on said arm, an adjustable stop cooperating With said arm limiting the for Ward swinging of said back-staff, a substantially-horizontal spring connected to said arm, and means beneath the front of the chair-seat to adjust the tension of said 20 spring, substantially as described.

H. A. ATWOOD. 

